| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| James N. |
Posted - April 09 2011 : 8:29:58 PM
Looking back through my old 1991 Hallmark Date Book which I'd used back then as a pocket notebook, I see it's now twenty years ago THIS MONTH that I was hired by Dale Fetzer to work on the production! I'd been aware for some time that it was "in the works"; the problem was WHO was going to be in charge of the reenactors. Apparantly, the production company originally approached my friend Ray Herbeck, Jr. to do the job, as he had for North and South, Alamo - the Price of Freedom, and most recently, Glory. Unfortunately, though, Ray was interested in "branching out" into production, no doubt in part because of the successful documentary he'd produced on the post-Glory 54th Mass. Regiment called The True Story of Glory Continues, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Originally released on a separate VHS tape, it's now available as one of the "Special Features" on the Glory Special Edition DVD. If you liked that movie anywhere as much as LOTM, this is an interesting addition because it uses many scenes and "outtakes" that never made the finished film - just the sort of thing everyone here's clamoring for Mohicans!
At any rate, Ray declined, recommending Dale Fetzer, with whom we'd worked on previous projects, for the job. Dale's position in the industry was as a sort of "go-between" for the reenactor community and various production companies. A resident of Delaware and member of the well-known Civil War reenactment group 5th New York, Duryee's Zouaves, he had good connections within the reenactor community; I'd previously worked for him on Glory and the Turner Network's Ironclads. The way this was structured, Dale acting as a "sub-contractor" actually employed the reenactors through his company, Historical Impressions ( consisting of himself and his lovely wife Linda! ), freeing in this case Mann's Forward Pass Productions from all the tax and withholding paperwork, not to mention the considerable headaches involved in arranging for all the reenactors' schedules and arrive times! Dale became the "contact" person for all reenactor extras, and several of us, myself included, were hired in part to help him with details like making phone calls, etc. in addition to being part of the on-screen "reenactor core". He was vital to the production, but was eventually sidelined in the actual "running" of the reenactors by God's Gift to Military Productions, CAPTAIN Dale Dye.
Fortunately all THAT lay in the future - twenty years ago my primary interest was "wrapping up" my life as a salesman at Macy's in Dallas and packing up ALL my belongings to put in storage for the duration. I'd earlier recieved notification that the apartments where I'd lived the past 16 years ( ! ) were going to be completely closed for remodeling and that I would soon have to move anyway since leases were not being renewed. That gave me the excuse to totally clear out and start anew. For the next six weeks I continued to work at Macy's, packing and making preparations for the Big Move which came in May. I gave 2 week's notice, with the understanding that at the end of the production I could return to my job, as I had done for Glory two years earlier.
To Be Continued...
1) Ray Herbeck, Jr. on the Navoo, Ill. set of the featurette Legacy, filmed on location for the Mormon Church and directed by Kieth Merrill, who also directed Alamo - The Price of Freedom.
2) Dale Fetzer ( far right ) next to me enjoying a joke with other reenactors at Popeye's Chicken, Brunswick, Ga., while working on Glory, Jekyll Island, Ga.
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| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| IWLFNDU |
Posted - April 12 2011 : 6:14:03 PM
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Very interesting background, too, James...Very cool.  |
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